New book presents methods to poke and prod individual...( COLD SPRING HARBOR N.Y. Single-mo...)

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. Single-molecule biologythe revolutionary field that deals with the study of individual macromoleculesis undergoing rapid growth. Tremendous technical advances have made it possible to probe molecules one by one, and to produce dynamic images as they twist, twirl, wobble, and unfold. These high-tech methods are the focus of a new book that was just released by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (www.cshlpress.com).

Single-Molecule Techniques: A Laboratory Manual is the first to take researchers who know nothing about single-molecule analyses to the point where they can successfully design and execute appropriate experiments. It is geared toward research scientists, post-docs, and graduate students in structural and molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics, as well as all who are interested in observing, manipulating, and elucidating the molecular mechanisms and discrete properties of macromolecules.

In order to examine biological phenomena on a molecular level, scientists formerly needed to test an entire population of molecules to capture an average of whats happening. But using single-molecule techniques, scientists are now able to examine macromolecules in singuloone by oneand obtain astonishingly clear views of discrete molecular and cellular events. These high-tech methods have primarily been the domain of biophysicists, but recently, the field of single-molecule biology has burgeoned into a multidisciplinary activity.

Now it seems appropriate that the techniques of single molecules be extended to other users, not just to the experts, write the editors, Drs. Paul Selvin and Taekjip Ha, in the preface to the book. Selvin and Ha are well-respected pioneers in the field of single-molecule biology and active scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We hope to reach a wide audience, and for that, we aim to present a c
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